EZ Consulting assisted this leading retailer of stone cladding and outdoor furniture with a number of initiatives including:

• Development of a comprehensive business plan covering its existing multi-state operations and desire to expand nationally and internationally. The plan incorporated expected cashflows (including levers to vary all aspects of individual businesses units) to determine the rate of expansion that could be managed organically and capital requirements for accelerated expansion.
• The creation of a franchise network including drafting of relevant agreements and operating processes.
• Local and international protection of intellectual property assets.
• Renegotiation of property and working capital debt facilities after the initial refusal of the retailer’s bank for a modest increase in existing facilities. The assignment resulted in a 30% increase in debt facility headroom, an average 2% reduction in funding costs across the group and a greatly simplified debt structure with all cross-guarantees removed.